If you are the author of this article and you feel it does not accurately reflect the findings and purpose of the paper please let us know.

This sought to further understanding of how non-operational family separations influence family functioning and well-being among Royal Navy/Royal Marine families.

Abstract

Military families can experience a variety of different separations due to the occupational
demands of Service personnel. The most prominent of these is the deployment of personnel
on operational and combat missions. Previous international research has demonstrated how
separations related to deployment can negatively affect the functioning and health and wellbeing of military families. However, little is known about how this might compare to shorter,
but more frequent separations unrelated to operational deployments – non-operational
family separations. This form of family separation is more common among the UK Naval
Service community, many of whom do not live near military bases or move with personnel
but instead reside within local civilian communities across the UK. An estimated 24% of UK
Armed Forces families live separately from personnel during the working week, increasing to
36% among Naval Service families (Ministry of Defence 2016). While this can have benefits
for Naval Service families in providing increased stability to support spouse/partner
employment and the education of children, it often results in serving Naval personnel living
away from the family home during the working week - referred to as “weekending”. Such
separations can also occur in additional to operational deployments, increasing the time
Naval Service families may be apart.
To help understand non-operational family separations and how they influence family
functioning and well-being among Royal Navy/Royal Marines (RN/RM) families, a research
project was commissioned by the Naval Families Federation, with funding from Greenwich
Hospital. This report presents the findings of this study and makes recommendations for
future research and potential interventions to support military families experiencing this
type of separation.

Full Reference

Gribble, R. and Fear, N. T., 2019. The effect of non-operational family separations on family functioning
and well-being among Royal Navy/Royal Marines families. Final report. King's Centre for Military Health Research. Available at: <https://nff.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Non-Operational-Separations.pdf>.